The secret location: Nokia’s Test Lab in Farnborough

For all those wondering where I was this morning, the answer is Nokia.

Alas there was no smoke and daggers and X-Files Cancerman-style shenanigans as per my post this morning. I got a little bit carried away.

I actually got a phone call from Ray Haddow, one of the chaps in Nokia’s Social Media/Communications team. Ray asked if I’d like to see round one of the company’s handset test labs (they’ve got 11 in total around the planet).

“Yes,” I said, “With bells on.”

And so I arrived shrouded in secrecy, joined by Steve Litchfield (All About Symbian) and the dudes from Pocket Lint. No one’s ever got to see round this lab before — and whilst Ray specifically pointed out that there wouldn’t be any new handsets or announcements — the opportunity to see what lengths Nokia goes in order to test their handsets.

They don’t just drop a few and stick them together with sellotape and try again to check out the designs. Oh no. They do a considerable amount of testing.

And I got to see more or less all of their major tests — and film it. The footage is ripping off the camera at the moment and I’ll have some stuff up shortly. If you’re anywhere near describing yourself as a Nokia fan, you will want to see this…